


Up in the Sky

by queermoraghid (TheDoctorIsIcecube)



Category: Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, pre-game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-23
Updated: 2018-06-23
Packaged: 2019-05-27 12:04:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15024221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDoctorIsIcecube/pseuds/queermoraghid
Summary: In the wake of a battle between her and Malos, Mythra sits with Addam and thinks about the future.





	Up in the Sky

The wake of a battle in the skies hung around them. Malos’ trace was left in the sky, left in the smell of smoke and ash and artifices. The sound was gone, with only the soft whirring of Ophion’s plates remaining, but Mythra could almost hear the sound of the shouting from the battle. Malos really never shut up. She wished she could just go down there and tell him just that, to shut up. It seemed petty, but there was just so much noise in war, and so very few peaceful moments in between. She would do anything for five minutes of silence.

She supposed these were her moments of quiet. Addam was sat at the edge of the cliff, his legs hanging off the side of the titan. His usual cheery smile was gone now he didn't think she could see him. He didn't know how sharp her eyesight was, that was something she knew for sure. He didn't know her that well, honestly. He was her driver, and she knew him better than she knew any of the other people they’d met fleetingly, but she still didn't feel like she knew him, and she knew the same applied to the reverse.

With a simple thought, Ophion flew lower, until she could call to Addam without having to raise her voice too much. “Are you okay?” As soon as he heard her, the usual smile was back in place, that look on confidence that never strayed off of his face for too long. Mythra wished he didn't feel like he had to hide his feelings from her.

“I’m fine!” He called back. “Is there room on that dragon for one more?” He asked the question so nonchalantly. As if Ophion hadn’t just surprised them by descending from the sky while they were fighting Malos only hours ago. He asked if there was room, even though Ophion was huge.

“Ophion is meant to mimic a snake, not a dragon,” she called with a laugh. Addam grinned knowingly up at her. Of course he’d known that. He was just gauging her response to see how she was feeling. “But yes, there is.” She manoeuvred Ophion down, and reached out a hand to help Addam on top of it. 

“It’s surprisingly quiet, this thing,” he mused. “I would have thought it would be louder. A proper sort of engine noise.” He was right, Ophion was shockingly quiet, a soft hum the only sound it made. “I do like it, though.”

“I’m not sure there’s an engine inside,” she said. “It’s strange. I can sort of feel its inner workings, but not entirely. It’s not like Siren, who just fits, it’s something else.”

“Maybe you’ll feel it more as you get used to it,” Addam suggested. “I’m sort of surprised you never even knew about Ophion until now. It was just...waiting. Until the right time came, I suppose.”

“Maybe,” Mythra said. The ‘right time’ could have been a while ago, honestly. If she’d had Ophion from the very first day Malos reared his ugly head, this war would be over by now. She could have blasted him into a million little cinders. But no, as usual, the workings of the world had to make everything slightly more inconvenient than was necessary.

“How are you holding up?” He asked. “I know you said that your energy doesn’t really come from ether in the same way, but I know you still use it, just like any blade. Overuse can put a strain on your body and the last thing we need is overpowered weaponry sapping your strength.”

“I’m fine,” she said. She was a little tired, but it was nothing that a short rest and perhaps some food later wouldn’t fix. She didn't strictly need the food, but it was nice nonetheless. It made her feel a little less alien. “Nothing a break can’t fix. And I imagine Malos is doing the same thing.”

“Don’t worry about what he’s doing,” Addam said. There was a hard note to his tone; he didn't bother to conceal his dislike for Malos. Mythra felt like he hadn’t taken enough time to consider Malos’ viewpoint, but she saw why Addam felt that way. Malos needed to be stopped. She agreed with him, even if she wished there was a better way to go about stopping him than this. 

“Sorry,” she said. She rested her hand on his, and she saw a little of the tension drain from his shoulders. With another quick thought, Ophion rose a little higher, until it was almost level with the clouds. The air was thin up here, but it would be alright for a few minutes.

“Is this what piloting Siren looks like?” Addam asked. Mythra looked down and nodded. There were more displays when she piloted Siren, and it was a lot safer, seeing as half the time she wasn’t even inside the Artifice and the other half she wasn’t sitting on top of it, but the scenery was the same. High above everything else in Alrest, things had a completely different perspective. Off in the distance, she could see Coeia.

“Siren is a bit more...technological,” she said, and shrugged. That was all the explanation she could really offer without getting too complicated, and right now she was too tired for complicated. “Hey… Do you think there’s a chance Malos might get an artifice like this, too?”

“Well he has his own Siren, doesn’t he?” Addam asked. Mythra nodded. The man had never outright said it, but she presumed that the darker Siren that showed up in some of their battles was his artifice. “And he has those smaller ones. I think he has a better understanding of all of this stuff available to him than we started with. So I don’t think he has anything else. Hopefully.”

“Hopefully,” she echoed. This war was not exactly on the side of hope so far. They weren’t outright losing any battles, but it was hard to say that there was a clear winner, either. “I hope we make it through this. I don’t want to lose you.” An unusually emotional sentiment for her, but they were alone and she was tired.

“I know you’re different to a normal blade, but logically you’d return to your core if I died, yes?” He asked. Addam was always so...he never shied away from talking about death, even if Mythra hated even the mere mention of it. “You wouldn’t- you wouldn’t really feel the loss, I’d say.”

“I don’t know.” Mythra didn't much want to think about it. Dying held no appeal to her, even if it just meant that she would one day return, memories wiped, to be wielded by someone else. She didn't want to forget this. “I still would rather you didn't die…”

“I know,” he said. “I’ll do my best not to. I have no desire to cut anything short either. There’s a lot of world out there, and lots of people I want to experience it with. You’re one of those people, of course.”

“I think I’m the one person who doesn’t give you a choice in the matter,” Mythra said with a wry smile. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily. Or at all. You’re stuck with me, I’m afraid. For as long as you happen to be alive.”

“Good,” Addam said, smiling back at her. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading :) this is something a bit different from us, but Addam in the dlc trailer really caught my attention and I thought he'd be fun to write. Catch me being completely wrong about this come September, but it was fun anyway! If you enjoyed (or didn't enjoy) please leave a comment to let us know :)


End file.
